A/N Thank you so much to everyone who left such kind and encouraging reviews! They really mean a lot to me. I hope that you all enjoy this next chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own the boys or their story, just my original characters.

No Rest for the Winchesters

Chapter 2

Her fears were confirmed when she reached the stretcher. His face had changed over the years, showing each and every one of them, but it was unquestionably Sam. And he was most definitely unconscious.

"I thought they said that he was responsive in the field!" Abby shouted anxiously over the sound of the wind at the nearest EMT. "They said he wasn't as badly hurt!"

"We had to sedate him on the way over," the young woman yelled back. "You should have seen the way he was fighting us! It took three of us to hold him down long enough to get the sedative in. He was frantic about his family and wouldn't let us help him."

Abby stared numbly at her sibling, barely registering the commands thrown at her by Dr. Marcus, just responding mechanically, doing anything and everything that he thought would help her brother.

How had this happened? She hadn't seen Sam in years, but he had called her when he got accepted to Stanford. He had asked for her advice on leaving the family business, on living his own life. She had encouraged him to find his own path, to follow her example and pursue his own interests. He had called since then, every few months, just to check in. He had been happy, doing well in his classes, making good friends. He had called her when he met his girlfriend, and again when he asked her how he should go about proposing. He had told her about the law school interview that he had lined up, how he thought he had a good chance at the future he wanted. How had that excited, hopeful young man gotten sucked back into the black hole of their family and wound up here, being rushed through the halls of a hospital for scans to make sure that he did not have any brain damage or internal bleeding?

Two hours, half a dozen scans, and lots of bandages later, they had done all that they could for Sam, and were just waiting for him to wake up.

"Keep an eye on him Dr. Winchester," ordered Dr. Marcus as he walked out of Sam's tiny ER cubicle. "And try to get your head out of the clouds."

Abby nodded absently as she fell into the chair beside Sam's bed. She was desperate to check up on the rest of her family, but she was hardwired with the instinct to protect Sammy, and she would not leave him alone. She ran her fingers gently through the wavy brown hair that was longer than she remembered. The gesture had always worked to sooth her little brother when he was upset over a nightmare or in pain from a hunting injury. This time, however, it failed to produce a response in the young man before her.

"Come on, Sammy," she whispered pleadingly in his ear, grasping one of his limp hands. "I know I haven't been there for you like I should have been, but I need you to wake up for me. Please, kid, I need you to be alright. This wasn't supposed to happen to you, you were supposed to be out. Safe. Please Sammy. Dean…he's hurt, and so is Dad, and I can't lose you too. Not you, Sammy." Abby's voice broke on the last word, and the tears that she had been holding in since she saw her twin's face finally began to fall. She let them come, but refused to make a sound. She was a Winchester, after all.

The moisture in her eyes prevented her from seeing the pair of hazel eyes blink slowly open.

"Abby?" His voice was soft, confused and disbelieving. Her head shot up and her tears dried instantly, relief flooding through her.

"Sammy? It's me, I'm here. You're okay, you're gonna be fine. I won't leave you." She wrapped her arms gently around her little brother, planting a kiss in his chocolate curls.

"But…what are you doing here?" The doctor pulled back, taking Sam's face in her hands. His eyes were cloudy with confusion.

"I work here Sammy. You managed to get into a car accident in the middle of nowhere, and this was the closest hospital. Do you remember anything?"

"I…I don't…" Sam rubbed his head in frustration. Then his eyes cleared and panic took over his face. "Dean!"

He tried to push himself out of the bed, only to be caught by his sister when a wave of dizziness hit him.

"Easy, Sammy," soothed Abby as she lowered Sam back to a sitting position. "You got slammed by a semi, you need to rest."

"But Dean, and Dad. They were both hurt worse than me, where are they? Are they okay?" He stared up at her desperately. Abby had forgotten the incredible power of those puppy dog eyes of his. She never could bring herself to lie to him.

"I don't know Sammy," she whispered. "It's only been a few hours since you got here, and I've been with you. I haven't been able to see either of them. But…they were both in pretty bad shape when they came in."

Her face must have looked even worse than she thought, because before she had even finished speaking Sam had gotten to his feet again and was heading for the door. Abby grabbed his arm to stop him. He tugged it from her grasp, but turned to face her.

"I need to see him." There was no question of which family member he was talking about. Neither Sam nor Abby had the best relationship with their father, but they would both do anything for Dean.

"Sam, listen-" Abby began, but she was cut off by her brother.

"No. You abandoned him! We both did, but he came back for me, and all of this is my fault, and I won't leave him again!" His words burned, but Abby refused to show the pain that his accusations caused her.

"Sam, I'm not trying to stop you. But you're forgetting something," she replied gently.

"Yeah? What's that?"

"You were admitted to the hospital Sammy."

Abby waited patiently for her words to register. She watched as realization dawned on her brother's face. A blush rose in his cheeks and he looked down at the short hospital gown that he was wearing. A gown that had an open back, which was currently facing the rest of the ER.

The older sister allowed herself a small grin before wordlessly handing Sam the clothes that had been removed when he was brought in. She stepped outside of his cubicle and drew the curtain closed, allowing him the privacy to change. The relief over Sam's return to consciousness was beginning to fade, quickly replaced by growing fear for the rest of her family. The image of Dean's bloody and mangled body kept flashing in front of her eyes. If he died…she didn't want to think about it.

Fortunately, Sam emerged at that moment. Unfortunately, he scowled the second he saw what Abby had in front of her.

"There is no way I'm riding in that thing," he stated, backing away from the wheelchair that his sister was pushing towards him.

"A semi, Sam. It's been less than four hours. You lost a lot of blood, you were sedated, and you might have a concussion. I am a doctor, not to mention your big sister, and you will ride in the damn chair or so help me, I will make you."

The siblings glowered at each other for a few moments before Sam reluctantly lowered himself into the wheelchair.

"This is humiliating," he grumbled.

"No, Sammy, humiliating was the time you accidently asked out a transvestite. This is sensible," retorted Abby.

"You swore you would never bring that up!"

"And you swore that you would be safe at college!" Abby winced. She had not meant to start in with the questions before she knew the condition of the rest of her family.

They both fell silent until they reached the ER desk.

"Hey Tracy," Abby said to the nurse on duty. "I'm looking for the two other guys who came in the chopper today. Can you give me their locations and room numbers?"

"Sure doc," the young woman replied. She spent a few moments clicking through her computer. "Alright, it looks like the older one is stable, still unconscious though. The other guy is listed as critical, but stable as well. They're both in the ICU, rooms 207 and 218."

"Right, thanks," Abby heard herself say. They were still alive. Critical, but alive. Relief washed through her again.

She practically ran to the elevators, nearly flinging Sam from the wheelchair when they arrived.

"Okay, that's it. I'm walking," Sam said, rising from the offending chair.

Abby did not have the patience to argue with him, so she just shoved the chair aside as they boarded the elevator together, riding to the second floor of the hospital. Abby led Sam towards their brother's room, but was brought up short by a call from behind her.

"Dr. Winchester!" It was her resident, Dr. Bradley. She thought about ignoring him, but then she remembered that he was in charge of Dean's case. She told Sam to go in ahead of her, before turning to talk to her mentor.

"How is he, Dr. Bradley?" she asked anxiously.

"My patient? We need to talk about yours. He shouldn't be out of bed yet, much less visiting the ICU. You know better than this, Abby."

"I know, sir, but it was his father and older brother in that car. He wouldn't rest until he saw them."

"Then why isn't he in a wheelchair at the very least?"

"You wouldn't believe how stubborn he is. Please, doctor, he seems alright. I'll be with him the whole time, I'll monitor his condition. I think it would be best for all of them if they could be together."

The older doctor gazed searchingly at his student for a long moment before finally relenting.

"Fine, but I expect you to be watching that boy's every move. You readmit him if he shows any troubling signs."

"Yes sir," said Abby, relieved that she had won, but impatient to see her brother.

"And you can tell him that his father is awake," finished the doctor before he turned and walked away.

Abby stood still for a moment after he left. Her father was awake. That meant he was going to be alright. She closed her eyes and took a moment to breathe, settling her emotions before entering the most important room in the world.

It was worse than she had allowed herself to fear. The first thing she registered was her twin, lying in a nest of tubes and wires. She knew what each and every one of those cords was for, and knew that they added up to a severely injured brother, who could not even breathe on his own. The young woman took a single, shaky step towards her brother.

"Abby?" the voice pierced her to her core. It was as achingly familiar as it was impossible. The doctor slowly looked up to the corner of the room, where her eyes met a set that were as vibrantly green as her own.

"Dean?"

A/N Thanks for reading! I hope you have enjoyed the story so far. I would love some feedback. Updates may not always be daily, but they should be pretty regular.